


A Tangled Web

by Politzania



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Going undercover, Iron Man 2, Natalie Rushman - Freeform, POV Natasha Romanov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-09-24 16:23:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20361499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Politzania/pseuds/Politzania
Summary: Natasha Romanov goes undercover to determine whether Tony Stark and Iron Man should be considered for the Avengers Initiative.





	A Tangled Web

**Author's Note:**

> Square: T3 - Natasha Romanoff  
Title: A Tangled Web  
Rating: General  
Warnings: none  
Pairing: none - Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark (Impending friendship)  
Summary: Natasha Romanov goes undercover to determine whether Tony Stark and Iron Man should be considered for the Avengers Initiative.

Natasha listened intently as her superiors outlined her next assignment. “I wouldn’t have called him a friend, but I knew Howard Stark,” Director Fury said. “He was a brilliant man who believed the ends justify the means and thought more about whether he could do something than if he should.” 

Senior Agent Sitwell added. “Your job, Romanov, is to determine how closely his son is following in his footsteps. We need to know if the man behind the armor is someone who can be entrusted with the power he’s wielding.” She waited for Fury to add something about the Avengers Initiative, but he seemed satisfied to let Sitwell run this briefing. 

“And what if you decide he isn’t?” she asked. “Good luck getting those suits away from him. You saw the Senate hearing, how Stark shut them down.” 

“SHIELD isn’t the government. You know that, Romanov.” Sitwell shot back; Fury said nothing. 

“Yes, I do.” She coolly returned Sitwell’s gaze. “Perhaps better than anyone.” 

Sitwell sniffed and shuffled his papers. “I recommend you use your ‘assets’ to your best advantage, then,” he replied, looking pointedly at her chest, “ as that seems to be a particular weakness of Stark men.” 

Natasha raised an eyebrow and glanced at Fury, who gave the smallest of shrugs. “So, when do I start?” 

Natalie Rushman stepped confidently into the foyer, paperwork in hand. While she was a relatively new hire at Stark Industries, her cover was impeccable; a bit of manipulation was all it took to get the notary assignment that brought her out to Stark’s Malibu mansion. Sitwell had continued to stress the honeypot aspect of the operation, but Fury wanted her to dig deeper and try to get at Stark’s frame of mind. It wasn’t the first time she was involved in a multi-layered mission and she would adapt her reports accordingly.

Natalie followed the sharp click of Ms. Potts’ heels around the corner and into a large, open room which held a boxing ring along with other athletic equipment. Tony Stark and his bodyguard, Hogan, were working out. Natalie stopped in the doorway intentionally, waiting to catch Stark’s eye. She had studied his previous partners closely and knew exactly what Stark found attractive. 

She had dressed for the part in form-fitting slacks that had more give than the usual professional wardrobe would allow, and a shirt with perhaps one too many buttons undone. Her makeup was appropriate for an office environment, but she wore her hair loose around her shoulders. Natalie glanced down demurely as she descended the few stairs; a woman in her position shouldn’t appear either starstruck or too forward. 

Natalie hadn’t been expecting to be called up into the ring; but Stark had been behaving unpredictably over the past several months, which was part of the reason she’d been sent in. While it made perfect sense to Natalie to hand over the day to day running of SI to Ms. Potts -- after all, according to company rumor, she’d been doing so for quite some time -- Sitwell had treated it as a red flag. 

She let Stark look his fill as she ducked under the ropes and stood back up. He drank something vile-looking from a sports bottle as Natalie held his gaze. He blinked first, a bemused look crossing his face as he asked whether she’d said something. She let her eyes dance with amusement, but remained silent. 

Stark then foisted her off on his bodyguard, asking Hogan to “give her a lesson.” Natalie would claim later to simply have been testing Stark’s reactions to a novel situation, but if she were honest with herself, she’d lost her temper a little at Hogan’s belittling comments. So when he went to throw a pretend punch, she let her reflexes respond appropriately. 

Both Potts and Stark were taken by utter surprise, crying out, but then Stark seemed to take her side as he teased his bodyguard mercilessly. When Natalie asked Stark for his impression, he indulged in a little flattering wordplay. 

Once she’d gotten his prints on the paper work, Natalie went into full ingenue mode, asking “Will that be all, Mister Stark?” His response -- as well as that of Ms. Potts -- was exactly what she expected. Natalie suppressed a quick grin on her way out after overhearing his final comment, “I want one.” Her first encounter with Tony Stark had been a success, and she was already looking forward to the next one.


End file.
